Facebook financial results fly past expectations

MENLO PARK, CA - APRIL 04: A Facebook employee holds a phone that is running the new "Home" program during an event at Facebook headquarters during an event at Facebook headquarters on April 4, 2013 in Menlo Park, California. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new product for Android called Facebook Home as well as the new HTC First phone that will feature the new software. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Justin Sullivan

Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue of $1.91 billion, according to FactSet.

Facebook's advertising revenue was $1.8 billion, up 66 percent from a year ago. Mobile ads accounted for 49 percent of the company's total ad revenue during the quarter. In the second quarter, mobile ads amounted to 41 percent of the total. The increase shows that Facebook's strategy to become a "mobile-first" company is paying off.

"The strong results we achieved this quarter show that we're prepared
for the next phase of our company, as we work to bring the next five
billion people online and into the knowledge economy," said Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg, in a statement.

Facebook went public in May 2012 at $38 per share. It took the stock more than a year to surpass that price as the company worked to prove that it could grow mobile advertising revenue at a time when an increasing number of its users were accessing it on cellphones and tablet computers.